Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/79792
6A Daily News – Thursday, August 23, 2012 Opinion DAILYNEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer's home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. Mission Statement We believe that a strong com- munity newspaper is essential to a strong community, creating citizens who are better informed and more involved. The Daily News will be the indispensible guide to life and living in Tehama County. We will be the premier provider of local news, information and advertising through our daily newspaper, online edition and other print and Internet vehi- cles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its com- munities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the resi- dents and businesses of Tehama County. How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 A matter of choice It's amazing how many choices there are in life. It's not just what direction to go with your life, but the mun- dane, small choices we get to make every day living in a free market society. This morning I got to choose between Rice Krispies, Honey Nut Cheerios or Cap'n Crunch for breakfast and if I didn't like any of those choices, I could decide to go to Raley's, Food Maxx or Grocery Outlet to pick a different brand. buy 10 years ago from a selec- tion of dealerships and decided whether I wanted to listen to sports talk radio or Z-Rock. I drove to work and chose a parking spot. I got into the car I chose to But while the free market has nailed this choice thing down, the other pillar of our country —the one rooted in being a fed- eral constitutional republic — often lets us down. Take the upcoming election for Red Bluff City Council for instance. I met my wife at Subway for lunch and after choosing from two different size sandwiches, five different breads, a dozen lunch meat assortments, a dozen more vegetables, a handful of condiments and 10 soft drink options I had to pick which booth to set my tasty lunch down at. So while I get to choose what cell phone service I prefer, what design I want on my ATM card and whether I want a vanity license plate, when it comes to who represents me on my city council I have no choice. While this week a third can- There are two open seats. Both incumbents have chosen not to run again. The first filing period ended with — wait for it —two candidates. didate filed using the extended filing period, it's still hard to grasp why my options are so limited for a choice that is of the utmost importance. I'm not saying any of the three candidates don't deserve my vote or yours. They all could end up mak- ing great councilmembers. However that's just some- thing I'll have to choose to believe, because in reality I have no other choice. Of course the choice voters will be stub- bornly focused on this fall is the one between Obama and Romney. In all actuality that choice will have little value in someone's daily life other than helping them win an argument with a friend or colleague. of Red Bluff have said, we don't care who has that job. We'd rather have more choices when it comes to a satellite provider than we have for men and women to lead our city. Rich Meanwhile their city council will be making decisions every week that directly impact their every- day life. The choice to patch the pot- hole you hit every day on your way home from work to whether there are clean parks and a pool for your child to play in won't be made by Obama or Romney. They will be made by your city council. And basically the residents Greene Perhaps we're about to live in a complaint-free city for the next two years and someone forgot to tell me. I doubt it, but what I do know is this whole federal constitu- tional republic of ours works best when people choose to care. It amazes me the residents of Red Bluff have chosen that atti- tude considering the passion they've shown in the past when the council makes decisions regarding homeless shelters, superstores and even feral cats. Reporter Rich Greene can be reached at 527-2151, Ext. 109 or by email at rgreene@redbluffdai- lynews.com. Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3070 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2595 Cean- othus Ave., Ste. 182, Chico, CA 95973; 893-8363. U.S.SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Commentary World discovers the weirdness of Todd Akin Now that the bigfeet in the national political media have discovered Todd Akin, longtime Akinmaniacs are bereft. For nearly a quarter of a cen- tury, we had him mostly to our- selves. He was that little barbe- cue joint that nobody else had discovered. He was a secret fishing hole we didn't have to share. We never knew what he would say next, but whatever it was, we knew that there was a good chance it would be ridicu- lous. ing with the idea that God had a special plan for the United States and that he was supposed to be part of it. Jim Talent decided to run for governor, people giggled when Akin filed for Talent's 2nd Con- gressional District seat. Four other Republicans wanted it, none of them wacky. In 2000, when Republican Todd's supporters saw the hand of God at work. There was never anything as outrageous as the magical women-don't-often-get-preg- nant-during-"legitimate-rape" claim that now has him in hot water. But if he started talking about Sunday blue laws or the evils of sex education or the dangers of the state licenses for day care centers or any of the other social issues that came before the Missouri Legislature in the 1990s, Todd would safely go off the deep end and only the Akinmaniacs would notice. He was kept pretty well bot- tled-up during his 12 years in the Missouri House. In those days, Democrats still controlled the House and moderation was- n't yet a sin within the GOP. Todd's views were so extreme that most mainstream Republi- cans rolled their eyes when he got up to talk. He didn't care. He was a man on a mission. Todd had come to politics after working briefly for IBM and then for Laclede Steel, founded by his great-grandfa- ther in 1911. In 1984, he'd attended divinity school, emerg- Then it rained. Some of Akin knew something that none of the other candidates had yet figured out. West St. Louis County and St. Charles County had become chock-a-block with evangelical churches, many of whose congregants were home- schoolers. Todd and Lulli Akin home-schooled their six kids. Lulli Akin was a home-school activist and organizer. Home- schoolers had a network. Home- schoolers were not afraid of a little rain. More than three-quarters of an inch of rain fell on primary day, Aug. 8, 2000. Turnout was 17 percent; only 57,621 people voted in the GOP congressional primary. Akin got 26 percent of the vote, beating former St. Louis County Executive Gene McNary, the runner-up, by 56 votes. The 2nd District was — and still is — solidly Republican, so Todd won the general election by 14 points over Democratic state Sen. Ted House of St. Charles. Off he went to Wash- ington. He brought home ear- marks. He voted to raise the debt ceiling. He voted for off- budget wars. He voted to expand Medicare to include pre- scription drugs. Todd's big issue was the Pledge of Allegiance. The only bill he ever passed was the Protect the Pledge Act, which in its various incarna- tions would have (a) made darned sure nobody ever took the phrase "under God" out of it and (b) for- bade any court from mucking around with the pledge. The House eventually passed it. The Senate didn't. Akin did diligent ing Rights Act. He said "the heart of liberalism is really a hatred for God." Kevin work on the Armed Services Committee, where seniority eventually brought him chairmanship of a Navy subcommittee. Todd was an Army veteran, but he liked the Navy. Three of his sons had attended the Naval Academy — home schooling worked! — and became Marine officers. And because all Missouri politicians pledge allegiance to Boeing, he especially liked aircraft carriers because St. Louis-built F/A-18 Super Hornets fly off their decks. It was on social issues that Horrigan From time to time, somebody in the national press would notice him, but the vot- ers in the 2nd District returned him to office time and again. Mean- while, the rest of the Republican Party was moving his way on social issues and Akin was moving their way on spending issues. So when he announced he would run for the Sen- ate, nobody blinked an eye. Akin had become the norm. Until Sunday, when KTVI- Channel 2 aired the interview dur- ing which he'd unburdened him- self to the estimable C.D. Jaco on the subject of rape and pregnancy. Jaco, a confirmed Akinmaniac, didn't press him on the issue, admitting that after years of inter- viewing Akin, he might have been "inoculated to odd things that might have been said." God help us, Todd Todd really shined. He voted against the school lunch pro- gram. He voted against the school breakfast program. He called the morning-after pill a "form of abortion." He voted against funding autism research (evil vaccines!). He voted against the minimum wage. He called student loans "a stage- three cancer of socialism." He questioned the need for the Vot- lowed by nervous Republicans. The U.S. Senate is a lot bigger deal than the Missouri House. Now every pundit in America has discovered our little barbe- cue joint. Rats. But Democrats pounced, fol- Kevin Horrigan is a columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Readers may write to him at: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 900 North Tucker Blvd., St. Louis, Mo. 63101, or email him at khorrigan@post-dispatch.com.